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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636694">Curiosity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/achangeofmagic/pseuds/AlorinDanya'>AlorinDanya (achangeofmagic)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Thief, the King, and the Son [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Labyrinth (1986)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Facebook: Labyrinth Fan Fic Lovers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:54:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636694</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/achangeofmagic/pseuds/AlorinDanya</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Since the 34th anniversary of Labyrinth is in a few weeks, we have been challenged to write the story from the perspective of a character not Jareth or Sarah for the LFFLWritersChallenge. This is my contribution.</p><p>Did you ever notice a black cat running through the Goblin City, or a mask-less woman with golden skin in the ballroom? This is her story.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Thief, the King, and the Son [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764334</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Curiosity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Since I am at the point in my own story, "The Thief, the King, and the Son" where a certain cat came into light, I figured now would be a perfect time to give her a back story. This is the result. Thanks goes to FrancesOsgood and Greenchimes for looking this over. Reviews and Kudos are greatly appreciated!</p><p>(At the end of this story are screen caps from the movie that inspired this character.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“<em>The smallest feline is a masterpiece</em>.” ~Leonardo De Vinci</p><p>“<em>Curiosity keeps us moving down new paths</em>.” ~Walt Disney</p><p>
  <strong> <em> <span class="u">Curiosity</span> </em> </strong>
</p><p>She was beautiful. She had almost forgotten, almost didn’t recognize the reflection of the golden beauty staring back at her. And in that same instant she saw what was going to happen just as the image was smashed. She dropped the petals in her hand in shock, raising her arm up too late to stop the inevitable from happening. The world shattered, glittery shards of crystal going everywhere as chaos ensued. The moment had literally been stolen from her. To say she wished it hadn’t happened at all was an understatement. It was a cruel joke. Why give her a gift she couldn’t keep? </p>
<hr/><p>The day had started differently. She could tell something was up from the shift in the air, the kind that only happened when a wish had been made; a wish for the goblins to take a child. The difference wasn’t physical; it could only be felt by those who had magic. Or in her case, one who <em> used </em> to wield magic. She didn’t know if she had magic any more. </p><p><em> Curiosity killed the cat </em>was not a phrase known by this feline who had lived in the Underground her entire existence. In fact, she didn’t even know that the little beasty she could turn into was even called a cat. All she knew was that she had once been a Fae that could change into a furry, four legged creature; small enough to easily get into hard-to-access places so she could sneak around. She had been tasked to investigate the Labyrinth, but it wouldn’t let any Fae breech its walls. As the creature, she had tricked her into letting her inside, but she never found her way out once within. And the Labyrinth wouldn’t let her transform into her Fae form within the maze’s walls. She had been trapped in her animal form for so long; maybe a dozen centuries? She had lost count. Her mind was all she had left. Well, her mind and her name: Smyrna. Still, something of magic must yet be within her if she could feel when magic was used around her. </p><p>It felt different if the wisher chose not to challenge Jareth, the Goblin King, the ruler of this ever-changing land. If they forfeited their right to try to get the child back, little happened, other than the disappointment of the goblins who had been readying themselves for some fun. They were always obnoxious, but particularly so when there was someone running the Labyrinth. But when the wisher decided to accept the challenge, immediate use of magic could be felt as the Labyrinth readied the obstacles it deemed would be necessary to prove the wisher’s worth. And the goblins readied themselves to play.</p><p>The wisher always assumed that it was the King of the Goblins they were challenging. In her years of observation, she had discovered that although the Goblin King monitored the progression of the wisher as they ran the maze, it was the Labyrinth itself who decided the final outcome. There were three possibilities: The wisher was genuine in their regret and would earn the child back; the wisher would lose and the child would be given to an adoptive family; or the child would be turned into a goblin. </p><p>The king was merely the head of state, the voice for the Labyrinth. But he was ruler of the unruly goblins. The Goblin King was not a horrid warty creature himself, but a beautiful Fae; well, half-Fae or the Labyrinth would have never let him within its walls otherwise. The Labyrinth didn’t like the Fae for their self-superiority and arrogance against creatures of lesser or no magic. The Fae had wanted to use its magic against its will; it was stronger than them and kept them out. It had only let Smyrna in because she had tricked it by entering in her feline form. She never would have done it if she had known she would never be able to get out, or never be Fae again. She had forgotten why she had entered its walls after all this time; there had to have been some reason but she was beyond caring now. She had a full belly, a warm place to sleep, and she was never bored. </p><p>Observing the goblins had its charm; but they <em> were </em> rather predictable in their day to day lives; eat, get drunk, chase a chicken, repeat. But days there was a wisher in the Labyrinth were a treat. She liked to follow the wisher and see what dangers untold and hardships unnumbered they faced. But she couldn’t do that until she knew what part of the maze they were in. And she couldn’t do <em> that </em> until the Goblin King gave a clue on where she should look. No need her running around the maze wondering where she could find the wisher when she could find out through the king’s curiosity as he monitored the wisher's progress by gazing into a crystal ball. </p><p>Currently, Smyrna was waiting in the throne room for the Goblin King to return with the child that had been wished away. He always brought the children to the throne room of the castle at the center of the Goblin City. It was one of the only parts of the maze that didn’t change, therefore the safest place to keep a babe. The king arrived with no flair, simply put the child in the middle of the pit at the center of the room where the plethora of goblins present could watch over him. Then he went to his curved throne to lounge, magically changing his clothes from his black armour and cape into something more comfortable, more him. He changed clothes with his mood, and throughout the course of one day he could wear six different outfits. One might think him very vain.  </p><p>He was usually kindly to his little charges, showing them the progress of the one who wished them away through his magic crystals. Even though in most cases the children were toddlers and infants much too young to understand, he would show them. But he didn’t say anything to this child. He seemed distracted and merely sat on his throne, thinking. He thought for a full three hours, sometimes glancing within the crystal himself, but never said anything. He hadn't even told his superior, the Empress of the Underground, that someone was running the Labyrinth.</p><p>As Smyrna had done many times in the past, she wanted to watch and follow the wisher first hand. It was much more fun to be on the sidelines and watch it actually happening than to hear it in snippets of conversation from the Goblin King when he talked to the little wished-aways. </p><p>But how was she supposed to know where to find the wisher if he remained silent? She  went to him and rubbed her black fur against him, trying to entice him to do something. He patted her head absently. Why was he less invested than usual in this wisher? Typically he kept a close eye on their run, sometimes disappearing to personally interact and make sure the wisher was on the path the Labyrinth intended. But it had been over three hours and still he was just lounging. He was a bit agitated, even. At one point he kept tapping his scepter against his boot, his other hand covering his face as if he were deep in his thoughts. </p><p>The poor little one, in his red and white striped pajamas, had tears streaming down his cheeks, crying his eyes out as he looked around the room. The boy couldn’t be much more than a year old, just old enough to know how to stand and take a few steps before tumbling to the ground. Could the king not hear the babe crying over the noise of the goblins? Why hadn’t the king tried to soothe the child? </p><p>The squawking of a chicken being hit by a spitball and the clamoring laughter of many goblins that followed woke the king from his funk. He started a bantering song with the goblins, a way to entertain the little tyke and stop his tears. Singing was good. Singing meant the king’s mood was lifting. But it also created great chaos in the throne room,making Smyrna seek refuge in a corner so as to not get trampled by the goblins’ merriment. The king took up the child and danced around, even throwing him haphazardly into the air. Thank goodness one of the larger goblins was there to catch the child before he hit the ground. The king acted as if nothing happened and swooped the child back into his arms, for a king never unintentionally makes mistakes. </p><p>Once the merriment was over, however, the king must not have been as cheerful as he appeared for he changed clothes, again, this time to all black. At least he was motivated now to check on the progress of the wisher. Finally, she would know where to go. She was already heading down the stairwell when she heard the king say, “She’s in the oubliette.” That told her two things: the location of the wisher and that the wisher was a female. Good. That meant she had a few minutes to find her way there. She doubted anyone would be able to exit the oubliette unaided. </p><p>One thing she had learned after living within the Labyrinth was the way to navigate it rather quickly. The maze wouldn’t let her leave, but within its walls she seemed to be free to go wherever she wanted. Most areas of the maze had one never-changing path that would lead to the center of the Labyrinth, the castle of the Goblin City. These paths were the one constant in the maze. Wishers rarely found them on their own. Residents used them frequently. It could take around three or four hours to get to the outer rims of the maze from the Goblin City on these straight paths. And she never seemed to tire of running.</p><p>The dark tunnels beneath the surface of the maze were some of her favorite hunting grounds as the vermin who lived there were some of her favorite snacks. There was only one oubliette in the Labyrinth, so she knew exactly where to go. An echo began to rumble through the tunnel, the voices of the False Alarms; the wisher must have found her way out. A few short minutes later, and much closer, she heard the pleading voice of Hoggle. The dwarf groundskeeper begged to not be thrown into the Bog of Eternal Stench. She didn’t blame his fear of the smelly place.</p><p>She ran as fast as she could when she heard the Goblin King answer back. She rounded a corner to find Hoggle kneeling on the ground and the king leaning his arm casually on the wall above his head, leering closely over the form of a young woman. His posture, voice, and clothing spoke volumes; he was trying to be seductive and intimidating at the same time. Here, Smyrna had taken his earlier response at not looking in on this wisher as indifference, when in fact he had quite an interest in this female. All she could see was the back of this female who was shorter than the king by half a head with beautifully long hair nearly as black as her own fur. The voice of the wisher showed she was still young despite having the curves of a woman. Not a child, but not quite yet mature. </p><p>This young woman tried to show she wasn’t afraid of the king by saying something to match his arrogance. The king did not appreciate it. A golden clock appeared out of nowhere and he raised his hand towards it, magically making the hands skip forward three hours, taking time away from the wisher’s time limit. </p><p>Smyrna felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand and she suppressed the urge to hiss at this spiteful act, but she remained silent. One hour may have been reasonable, but three, just for showing she wouldn’t be intimidated by him? The girl had only used words; why did he have to act so mean? That was behavior from him she hadn’t seen. And then as if it wasn’t punishment enough, he brought the Cleaners to chase the female out. It was a machine of spinning blades manned by goblins that would remove cobwebs and any roots that may grow down into the tunnels from above. </p><p>Not wanting to get caught by the slashing blades, Smyrna ran as fast as she could back to the tunnels of the False Alarms, just in the knick of time too. She could only hope the wisher and Hoggle made it out in time. </p><p>Once she was sure the Cleaners were gone, she ran down the tunnel, hoping she didn’t find any mangled body parts. Thankfully, the side of a wall collapsed and a ladder ascended to the surface. There was a scent of fear sweat in the air: the female must have climbed up this ladder. Now, Smyrna had to decide if it was worth feeding her curiosity by climbing up the ladder herself or to find one of the known exits of the tunnel to then go in search of the wisher, who could be anywhere. So, up she went.</p><p>The exit where the ladder opened led to part of the hedge maze. There was a sundial in the center of this courtyard and a stone throne made of books. Sitting upon this throne was a sleeping ancient one, however the bird on his head was wide awake and talking to the Goblin King. The king was adamant that he get something from the box the old man was holding. He said the ring the girl had given was his and that she had no right to have given it away. The bird didn’t want to argue and just told the king if he could get the ring out without the ancient one waking, he could have it, saying the old coot probably wouldn’t notice it was missing. After being successful, the king pulled off a glove, put the ring on his pinkie finger, then vanished. </p><p>Well, where was the wisher? </p><p>A howl came thundering through the air, shaking the ground. It was not too far off. Smyrna knew this sound, the call of the yeti-like beast named Ludo who could talk with rocks. He was calling them to his aid. Well, it was as good of a lead as any to find the wisher. On her way through the hedge, she crossed paths with goblin guards running blindly and hitting each other. Why were goblins so annoying? </p><p>She rounded a corner and came to a wall with a tree growing from it where Ludo and the wisher were standing. “Sarah Friend,” she heard the beast say. </p><p>Sarah. That must be the name of the wisher. </p><p>While Sarah was asking the beast if he knew his way through the Labyrinth, the maze was changing. Where the tree had been, two doors appeared. Each door had a goblin-faced knocker, living, breathing pieces of metal that guarded the doors. One had the knocking ring come from its ears, the other from its mouth. This part of the Labyrinth’s test wasn’t really a test, it was just a lesson. You have two choices, and you have to live with the choice that you made. </p><p>The doorknockers argued like an old married couple. Sarah asked them if they knew where their doors would lead her, but the one couldn’t hear the question while the other mumbled around the ring. She removed the ring from the mouth of the one who could hear her so she could understand his answer. He said that they didn’t know what was on the other side of their doors in a joking tone.</p><p>Why Sarah wanted to knock on the door of the knocker who was speaking to her, Smyrna would never understand. The one that couldn’t hear would have been the easier and more polite choice to make since no harm would come to using its ring to knock. But something compelled Sarah to go through the door of the one from whom she had removed his ring so he could speak. Now so she could knock, she cruelly held his nostrils, forcing him to eventually open his mouth to breathe and she slipped the ring back into his mouth and knocked. She did apologize to him as she went through, though.</p><p>The door stayed open just long enough for Smyrna to follow through it. This section of the maze was an aged forest, a forest that seemed untouched and sparkling with magic. The light of the sun didn’t penetrate  the canopy of the trees, so there was an eerie glow dimly lighting the forest floor. It was also very quiet. Smyrna did her best to hide behind tree trunks and to avoid any twigs that might snap and give her away. She rarely came into this section of the Labyrinth; there was nothing to hunt here. Plus, it was the territory of the Fireys, gangly creatures with a knack for merriment and a thrill for fire to the point of destruction. They had the uncanny ability to remove their limbs without harm to themselves, and they expected others they met to join in. Thank goodness the beast was with Sarah. The Fireys didn’t care for creatures bigger than them. </p><p>But the Labyrinth wanted Sarah to journey alone as it created a hole that sucked the beast into the ground. Smyrna wasn’t too worried for the beast, the maze wasn’t malevolent. But she was worried now, for Sarah was drawing attention to herself by shouting for Ludo. And sure enough, after her persistent shouting, the gang of Fireys heard her. They started surrounding Sarah, clanking sticks together in their hands, their form of music. As they juggled random body parts and exchanged limbs, the girl just stood there, likely in shock from what she was seeing. </p><p>When the creatures went to forcibly get Sarah to participate by pulling off her head, then complained that it wasn’t working, the girl shouted that of course her head didn’t come off. Sarah then made her escape, running further into the forest. Smyrna followed closely behind, until Sarah came to a dead end where a very tall wall showed the boundary line for this section of the Labyrinth. Sarah was trapped and the Fireys were almost to her. A rope came down from atop the wall. Smyrna looked up to find the groundskeeper pulling Sarah to safety. The Fireys still tried to follow her, throwing their heads up into the air and using their long ears as wings. But eventually the Fireys realized she was gone, out of their reach.<br/>
<br/>
Smyrna could already smell what lay on the other side of that wall, the most wretched section of the Labyrinth: The Bog of Eternal Stench. She was not keen to step-foot on its soil nor interested in following Sarah into the Bog. The sanctity of her nostrils was more important than her curiosity. She followed the wall around to where she figured the maze would have the girl come out on the other side. Sarah was doing well enough so far. Smyrna had all faith she would get through and hopefully come out un-stenched. </p><p>When she got to the section of the Labyrinth on the other side of the Bog, she found a nice dry root to lay on. This forest had high, tall trees; the large roots at their bases covered in soft ferns and the sunlight softly warmed the ground here. Smyrna must have dozed off while waiting until she was awoken by the voices nearing her. The beast Ludo stated he was hungry and Sarah stated maybe they should look for berries. Smyrna got up to follow Sarah and noticed the groundskeeper and a new companion was with them too, the knight who guarded the bridge that bypassed the waters of the Bog. This newcomer and his canine steed had the smell of the Bog lightly wafting off them. Lightly was something subjective; to her, any remnants of the stench was repulsive. She kept her distance.</p><p>The voice of the groundskeeper caught Smyrna’s attention as he handed Sarah a piece of fruit, a peach, to satiate her hunger. The girl smiled and commended the dwarf’s gift before taking a bite and swallowing it. Sarah then stared at the peach, going into a daze as she said it tasted strange. The dwarf started backing away, causing her to ask accusingly, “Hoggle, what have you done?” Hoggle turned to run away, damning himself and the name of the Goblin King as he went. The beast and knight had kept going into the forest on their journey, not having noticed the dwarf’s retreat or the girl’s distress. </p><p>Had she had arms to steady the girl, Smyrna would have done so. She watched as Sarah stumbled forward, grasping tightly to a tree for fear of falling as she mumbled, “Everything’s dancing.” Smyrna watched in alarm as Sarah fell backwards, landing on the root of a tree with the back of her shoulders. Luckily, the girl didn’t hit her head, but it must have hurt, yet she was too dazed to notice. Something about that peach had incapacitated Sarah, most likely a spell. The spell couldn’t have been cast by the dwarf; that must be why he had damned the Goblin King. Smyrna watched as the girl stared into space at seemingly nothing, but then she caught sight of what Sarah was looking at. Three perfectly formed crystals were floating, coming close to them as they glided on an unseen wind. Smyrna could see figures of masked dancers reflecting from within each one. She watched in amazement as Sarah started to disappear, then reappeared within a crystal in a magnificent ball gown. </p><p>The next things Smyrna noticed were her hands, her beautifully golden hands, but they weren’t empty. They were holding a tray with goblets on it. She looked at the revelry going on around her. She was surrounded by ladies in low cut bodices and men wearing frock coats, all of them masked. She raised one hand to her own face--it was mask-less. She felt the smoothness of her cheek for the first time in thousands of years. Oh how she wished there was a mirror so she could be reminded of what she looked like. She noticed that some of the women in their vanity were holding mirror compacts in their hands, using them to not only look at their own beauty but to inconspicuously observe prospects from across the dance floor. Maybe she could sneak a look at one, somehow. She looked at the tray she was holding; was she a servant here? </p><p>A flash of blue passed her and she was dumbfounded to see a resplendent Goblin King. She tried to follow him, even tried to entice him to stop for her by offering him one of the goblets on her tray, but he didn’t notice her. He had a horned mask on a stick, which he held over his face. She had never seen him look so fancy; he even had streaks of blue painted in his hair. He moved around the room in pursuit of someone, and she saw who when he lowered his mask as his eyes caught those of the only other mask-less person in the room. </p><p>Sarah was dazzling, a vision of purity in iridescent white. Her once straight hair was now curled and adorned with silver baubles. Her eyes screamed of innocence. The Goblin King held Sarah’s gaze, then with a smirk he disappeared within the dancers. Sarah looked around confused, searching for him within the crowd but never quite seeing him. He purposely hid, dancing with others while secretly observing what the girl did. Smyrna watched them, the king with his secret smirk knowing Sarah was in pursuit of him and Sarah in her confusion of what was going on around her. Men and women were dancing, groping, and touching lustfully in their merriment.</p><p>Seeing the girl wandering amongst this revelry irked Smyrna. Sarah was not nearly of the age to attend such a party. Smyrna found a table and placed the tray she was holding upon it. She was no servant. She was going to save this girl, somehow. She noticed on the table there was a bowl full of white petals. White petals purified. She began throwing the petals about the room. This room could sorely use purification.</p><p>What was the Goblin King hoping to achieve by subjecting Sarah to such a scene?</p><p>Oh, but the gleam in his eye was certain as he finally approached the helpless girl and took her into his arms. He wanted her and Sarah was helpless to resist. He twirled her and danced her around the room, singing to her words of undying devotion to be there for her as the world falls down. Had he lost his mind? Was he seriously trying to seduce one who was still a child?</p><p>Smyrna neared the girl to throw petals over her, to help break the spell the Goblin King had woven when the chimes of a clock rang through the air. Smyrna could see from her angle as the king moved his face closer to Sarah’s; was he seriously trying to kiss her? Sarah broke free of the Goblin King on her own, backing into Smyrna and the other revelers who had gathered near to watch their kings wooing. Smyrna got a quick glance at the king before moving to follow Sarah; did he actually look heartbroken with the girl leaving? In all the years she had observed him, he’d never shown he had a heart.</p><p>Smyrna followed the fleeing girl, feeling a need to protect her as others reached out their hands to stop her as she ran past them. Smyrna forgot about the petals she had been holding, that is until she saw her own reflection in front of her. The edge of this ballroom was the crystal they were trapped within. That is when Smyrna got a glimpse of her own form in the reflection. She dropped the petals from her hands as she stared at her own eyes. The next moment, Sarah had grabbed a chair and smashed it into the crystal wall. The illusion destroyed, she felt herself transforming back into her furry form. She was falling, as was Sarah below her, while the ballroom broke into pieces and disappeared in puffs of glitter.  </p><p>All this time observing the king and the wisher and the festivities going on around her, she had completely wasted her moments of being Fae again. Sarah breaking the spell meant Smyrna would be trapped as an animal again. If she hadn't been following Sarah in the forest, she would have never been drawn into the spell, would have never felt with her hands again, or seen her beautifully golden skin. At least now she could remember what she looked like; she had almost forgotten. It was a cruel gift of Fate. </p><p>Looking below, Smyrna could see that their landing would not be pleasant. The crystal had floated towards the castle as they had been within it. As the clock had chimed that Sarah only had one hour left to get to the center of the Labyrinth to reclaim the child, Smyrna could only speculate that it was taking them closer to the castle because the Goblin King was not expecting for Sarah to be able to break the spell. He was calling it back to the castle, no doubt, to claim his prize. So when it burst, it was just outside the gates to the Goblin City, a junk yard full of unwanted things. </p><p>Smyrna landed in a pile not far from the girl, for she heard Sarah speaking with one of the goblins who spent their time sifting through the junk for possible treasures. She could hear Sarah was still dazed by the spell as the goblin tried to entice her to become a collector of things unwanted.</p><p>The beast and knight who guarded the Bog had followed the crystal as it floated towards the Goblin City and had seen Sarah fall from it, but they could not find where that goblin had taken her. Knowing where the girl was, Smyrna mewled for them to follow her. It was difficult for her to slow down enough to allow Ludo to follow her. Her smaller form could easily navigate the nooks and crannies of junk. Once she reached the pile of junk she had seen Sarah enter, the knight and Ludo began calling for her. Luckily, the girl had come to her senses and was already trying to escape the junk goblin’s den.</p><p>It was to their advantage that the goblin knight guarding the gates of the Goblin City was asleep, despite the bog knight’s best efforts. She now knew he was named Sir Didymus through Sarah’s endeavors to stop him from waking it. Much to Sarah’s relief, the guard never awoke. Smyrna slipped through the gate behind as they entered, thinking they were home free. But, as usual, nothing was as it seemed.</p><p>The small gate behind them shut on its own. Sarah was unnerved by the eerie silence and said, “I smell trouble.” Sure enough, there were larger gates ahead of them that began to close. When the doors shut, it connected two parts of a humongous mechanical contraption. It looked like a suit of armour with arms, legs, and it picked up an axe that it swung down at them. Steam rose from its head, its red eyes gleaming as it called out in a deep mechanic voice, “Who goes?”  </p><p>They were trapped. From the ground behind them popped up metal spikes, leaving them nowhere to retreat. Small as she was, Smyrna took cover behind a pillar to watch them. Sir Didymus barked and growled at the machine as he sat upon his trembling steed. When the axe came too close, his steed knocked him off and ran behind the other pillar. Didymus was so distracted with his attempts at retrieving his steed that he never saw Hoggle come running along the top of the gate wall and jump down onto the machine. He pulled off its helmet and yanked out the goblin who had been running the machine. This goblin had wings to help break his fall, but when Ludo growled at him, he ran between the legs of the metal guard, escaping into the Goblin City. </p><p>The dwarf did not know how to work the machine and it was malfunctioning after its axe got wedged into the stonework above it. He leapt from the now exploding machine; Sarah immediately went to Hoggle’s aid, as he had a hard landing. As Smyrna had suspected, the Goblin King had made Hoggle give Sarah the bespelled peach. Thinking the girl would reject him, Hoggle confessed as if he didn’t regret it. He didn’t expect for Sarah to be understanding and forgive him. He cheered up and led them into the city. </p><p>Smyrna almost forgot that they didn’t know she was there, so when Ludo pushed the gate door fully open, she slipped out and ran around the other side of a building so they wouldn’t notice her. </p><p>Hearing that the Goblin King had purposefully enchanted Sarah was curious to Smyrna. What was also curious was how moments later, as their troupe went into the seemingly empty city, suddenly there were goblin guards and soldiers everywhere. They had swords, cannons, even a machine gun; was the king so desperate to stop this wisher that he was going to allow his guards to kill her? It wasn’t like Sarah was the first wisher to make it to the center of the Labyrinth. What had him so riled about this girl? </p><p>Eventually, through the help of Ludo calling rocks to save them from the goblins’ attack, they reached the castle. Smyrna had run ahead, finding the throne room empty of everything but a few chickens. Sarah and her trio of companions entered; there were only minutes left before the girl’s time would be up according to the clock that hung on a wall. Sarah noticed the stairwell to the left of the throne and started to run up it, but as she saw her friends try to follow, she said she must face the king alone, because that is how such challenges were done. Her friends reluctantly agreed that is the way these things were done but that she was to call on them should she need them. </p><p>The companions waited. Hoggle found a barrel of ale that was dripping and pulled out a flask from his vest pocket to gather some. Ludo settled himself in the pillows of the pit in the center of the room, and Didymus stood guard at the bottom of the stairs so as to be ready for his lady’s call. </p><p>Smyrna wanted to know what was going on, so she slipped behind the knight to follow Sarah. Wasn’t the rule that if the wisher reached the castle in time, they would get the child back? Typically the Goblin King would be waiting on this throne with the child on his knee, ready to hand the child over, maybe stating a lesson the wisher needed to learn through their journey. So she was curious where Jareth and the baby were. What she found surprised even her.</p><p>The room at the top of the stairs was now full of stairways and doors and archways that filled every surface of the entire room. She could see the wished away baby crawling on one side, and Sarah impossibly walking along the wall perpendicular, calling out the child’s name as she tried to find a way to get to him. All the while, Jareth was lurking in an archway, watching the girl’s frantic efforts. He had to have stopped time; there had only been three minutes left on the clock when Sarah had entered this room. He must have wanted to see how desperate Sarah was to retrieve the child. Smyrna wondered why the Labyrinth was allowing it; Sarah had met the requirements of making it this far. Why was Sarah still being challenged?</p><p>He finally let her know he was there, telling her he’d done everything for her, that her eyes were cruel, that he wanted to but couldn’t live within her. What was he going on about? Sarah wouldn’t let herself be distracted by him and continued trying to get to her brother. Finally, Sarah found the child stationary for once, but he was 20 feet below her. He was as close as he had been and as close as he may ever be. Smyrna’s heart flipped when she watched Sarah jump to get to the baby, for there was no way Sarah would not be hurt from such a fall. </p><p>But Smyrna never got to see what happened. The child disappeared. Sarah kept on falling as the room started breaking apart. Smyrna sprinted back down the stairs of the throne room to safety. The entire castle was breaking apart, so when she came screeching down the stairs, the awaiting trio scrambled to follow her out. Once they were in the Goblin City, they turned around to watch the castle crumble and break into pieces. Some of those pieces remained floating, like moons around a planet, or planets around a sun. </p><p>What happened? None of them knew and they talked amongst themselves as to their own theories before fading into silence and just watching the floating pieces of stone. </p><p>A few minutes later, magic pulled at the dwarf, the bog knight, and Ludo. Smyrna watched as they started speaking in the same direction, seemingly into thin air, telling Sarah goodbye. But then she heard the girl answer back and moved around to see what they were seeing. Sure enough, Sarah’s face could be seen through a window into her own realm. Was this the Labyrinth’s doing? A way for them to have closure with their friend so they could know that she was safe, despite the castle’s destruction?</p><p>But when Sarah said she needed them to be a part of her life, magically they were on her side of an apparent mirror that was the gateway between their worlds. Them and all the creatures of the Labyrinth she had encountered, it seemed. It was so very joyous. </p><p>Smyrna noticed one very important person was missing. She looked around the room finding a lack of the Goblin King. Something out the window of the girl’s room caught Smyrna’s eye, a white ball of feathers. The Goblin King’s animal form was not unknown to her. Now she understood why he wasn’t inside with them. He was trapped out there. After a moment, she watched as he flew away.  </p><p>It would be seven years until she would see the Goblin King again, this time with Sarah as his wife. But, that is another story.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>AN2: In case you haven't read it already, there is a story about Jareth and Sarah’s reunion and marriage,  my sequel to the movie: "The Thief, the King, and The Son"--still a WIP.  Many of the things referenced in this short story that weren’t in the movie are references to “The Thief, the King, and the Son” (TKS). Things like contacting the Empress about wished-away children, and how the Labyrinth doesn’t like the Fae, and Jareth taking back the ring from the wiseman are some of those touches I added that relate to TKS. I have included Smyrna as a cat in TKS and she may yet be returned to her Fae form; you’ll just have to wait and see. </p><p>If you haven’t yet left a review, I would love to hear what you think of this character and her observations of the story we all know and love. Kudos are always welcomed. Please, leave a contribution in the little box.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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